


Your Kind Eyes

by orphan_account



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Post-Pacifist Ending, but there's some overall non-graphic descriptions of eye replacement, it's not really body horror
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-06-26 12:14:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15663030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: He glanced at the thirium pump regulator in his hand, then into the empty socket in Simon’s chest. Markus gnawed on the inside of his lip as he lined up the regulator with his socket and then slid it into place with a soft click.(Or Markus saves Simon from the evidence locker.)





	1. Your Kind Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> *pounding fists on the table rhythmically* BITCH I DID IT. I've been complaining about writing this for like two-ish weeks now? Lmao it's been a time. 
> 
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> NOTE: I am SUPER heavily considering turning this into a series, but I’m only gonna do that if there’s interest in it. If y’all liked this enough, I will, but otherwise, nah.  
>   
> 

The entirety of Detroit was devoid of human life, for the most part. If Connor wasn’t kidding about what was in the DPD’s evidence locker, Markus had all the more reason to be moving with more haste down the mostly-empty street. He’d been fiddling with the thirium pump regulator since he got it, feeling each ridge and valley in the small, life-giving biocomponent. He’d be lying if he told you he wasn’t absolutely terrified to see what had become of Simon.

 

He pulled the regulator out of his pocket, throwing and catching it absentmindedly. The soft clicking of the pump regulator hitting his hand sounded like thunder on the silent street, but it kept his hands busy and not dropping it occupied his mind just enough to keep his thoughts from straying to every terrible thing that could’ve happened to his companion.

 

Markus turned on his heel and walked into the empty DPD building, the pump regulator falling into his hand with a final, too-loud _clack._ He cringed a little at the sound, holding his breath as he examined the regulator to make sure it wasn’t damaged.

 

He breathed a sigh of relief when it was apparent it was fine.

 

_“I left the evidence room open, it’s on the left hand side of the hallway.” Connor said, avoiding any steady eye contact. “I… I must apologize for what happened to the PL600- Simon. I mean Simon. I’m sorry.”_

 

Markus shuddered at the memory of Connor’s haunted face. He didn’t say how bad the damage was, simply saying that Simon had shot himself in order to keep him from finding out the location of Jericho, and that he had later tricked Simon into revealing the location later by impersonating Markus.

 

_“So he’s still alive?” Markus asked._

 

_“Technically, yes. I took out his thirium pump regulator, but if you were to put in a new one, he’d be functional again - albeit in need of some repair.”_

 

Markus didn’t _blame_ Connor for what he did - he was still a machine at the time - but that didn’t mean he didn’t resent what happened.

 

_Simon was willing to kill himself for the cause..._

 

The idea that Simon would be willing to die for anything, let alone the revolution, made Markus uncomfortable - nothing was worth his life. He shook his head, continuing on with purpose down the hallway, before coming to a stop in front of the door to the evidence room. He took a steadying breath he didn’t really need, before pushing the door open and walking in.

 

The first thing his eyes came upon was an absolutely _ruined_ PL600. He felt everything _stop_ as he stared at it’s torn off limbs, a significant portion of it covered in splattered thirium - but it quickly became apparent that who he was looking at _wasn’t Simon._ The thought that it _could’ve_ been made Markus feel sick, but he couldn’t help but be curious as to what actually happened to him.

 

He hoped that whatever it was that happened to the other PL600 wasn’t half as horrific as it seemed. He knew, deep down, that it was naive of him to hope for as much, that it always was as bad as it seemed, and oftentimes was even worse than it originally appeared to be.

 

Needless to say, he was _relieved_ when he looked at Simon, who appeared to only have damage to his eyes. Markus walked towards Simon’s strung-up form, and was reminded somewhat of a marionette - limbs hanging like a puppet waiting to be brought to life. Simon looked like he could’ve been a porcelain doll, perfectly sculpted and genuinely handsome, despite his dead-seeming state.

 

He glanced at the thirium pump regulator in his hand, then into the empty socket in Simon’s chest. Markus gnawed on the inside of his lip as he lined up the regulator with his socket and then slid it into place with a soft click.

 

As soon as the regulator was in its rightful place, Simon awoke with a start. Markus’ hand remained frozen in place on his chest as Simon sprung to life, wildly grabbing at Markus’ wrist.

 

“Who’s there? Markus? Is that you?” His voice was frazzled, panicked, _terrified._ It made Markus’ heart ache, but he was so damn happy to see Simon _alive_ and _fixable_ that it didn’t matter _._

 

“It’s me, it’s me. I’m here, now, it’s alright.”

 

“Why did you leave me again?” He said, sounding less accusatory and more betrayed. Markus was suddenly reminded that the last time Simon heard his voice was actually Connor, and Connor was _lying_ to him.

 

Markus winced a little, but he refused to give Simon _pity_ of all things. “That… That wasn’t me.”

 

Simon hesitated a moment, tightening his grip on Markus’ wrist. “What?”

 

“That was Connor - the deviant hunter. He impersonated me in order to find out the location of Jericho to infiltrate us.” Markus whispered.

 

“Damn it,” Simon swore softly, “I told him where we are, Markus! Did he do it? Is everyone okay? Has something happened-”

 

“We’re fine, Simon, we managed to get him to turn over a new leaf. He’s on our side, now.”

 

Simon let out a sigh of relief, closing his eyes for a moment. “Good, good… That’s good.”

 

“Let me see how badly you’re damaged,” Markus said as his free hand found Simon’s. His skin disappeared as he laced his fingers with Simon’s, but Simon wouldn’t budge.

 

“I’m fine, Markus.”

 

“Please?”

 

“I said I’m _fine._ ”

 

“It’ll only be a second, I promise. I’m not about to look through your shady memory files.”

 

“They’re not shady…” Simon muttered as he relented, forging his half of the connection as Markus immediately started running a diagnostic.

 

_[Processing…]_

 

Markus found he couldn’t really focus on the report as as each biocomponent in the list came up clean, one after the other. He couldn’t stop thinking about how he’d _left Simon_ and how much he missed him. Beyond that his thoughts drifted to Simon in general, and how grateful he was to have him back, how much he’d missed having the other android around Jericho, how much he-

 

_[Error Detected]_

 

Markus snapped out of his haze, forcing his attention to the report as the malfunctioning parts listed themselves one by one.

 

Simon’s legs were still nonfunctional, his left leg was completely disconnected from his hip down, his thirium pump came up clean, but there was a slight obstruction in a thirium transport tube in his jaw - probably a bullet fragment. Finally, his _eyes._ His right eye was ruined, the connection destroyed where the wiring met his processor, he would have to be rewired completely - tough, but doable. Though thirium flooded over his left eye, that seemed to be the only problem there. He could just switch it out and be done with it.

 

_Well, that means I could just give him mine-_

 

“Markus,” Simon’s voice interrupted his thoughts, “Don’t.”

 

“I’ll be fine,” Markus insisted.

 

“How will _you_ see?”

 

Markus shrugged, “I have the other eye, don’t I?”

 

“Markus, _please-_ ”

 

“Trust me.”

 

Markus let his hand fall away from Simon’s, bringing it up to the plate that held his green eye. He struggled to shove the short nail of his thumb underneath the plate for a moment, before it finally caught and he wrenched the eye, plate and all, from its socket. He tried to blink a few times, but there was no eyelid there with which he could. Markus let the biocomponent fall out of the frame, pushing the plate back into place on his own face.

 

He wedged his nail beneath the plate on Simon’s face, gently pulling it back to let the damaged eye roll out. It clattered to the floor, almost instantly forgotten as Markus pushed his eye into Simon’s empty socket, letting the entire thing slot into place.

 

The eye was glazed over, almost marble-esque for a moment, before it finally connected with Simon’s systems, and focused on Markus.

 

There was a long pause of silence, Markus opened and closed his mouth slightly, but he didn’t really know what he wanted to say. He was speechless, he still couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that Simon was _alive._

 

“It’s good to _see_ you,” Simon said, breaking the silence as a wide grin cut his face in half.

 

“Don’t make me take my eye back,” Markus said, voice maliceless as he wrapped his arms around the other android’s shoulders in an awkward hug. He felt Simon’s arms come up around him, hugging him back as best as he could while stuck to the wall.

 

Markus’ fingers quickly felt down Simon’s back, looking for the hook that held Simon up. His fingers caught on something he accidentally depressed, and Simon’s full weight suddenly fell into his arms. Markus stumbled backwards, equally startled and caught off balance - literally - as Simon fell into him. “Woah- Shit, alright, I got you,” Markus said.

 

Markus took a few more steps backward, Simon’s feet dragging slightly on the ground.

 

“I don’t think we’re gonna get very far like this.” Simon noted.

 

“You don’t say.” Markus muttered, trying to figure out how he would best keep a hold on Simon.

 

“We could… I dunno, take off my legs?” Simon suggested, “It’s not like I can use them.”

 

“We’re not doing that,” Markus said flatly.

 

“Sling me over your shoulder like a sack of potatoes or something?” He offered.

 

“ _No._ ”

 

“So you’re just gonna drag me around like a dead body, then?” Simon said, putting a hand on his hip as Markus continued to struggle to figure out how to best get him back to the med camp.

 

Markus didn’t even dignify the quip with a response, huffing indignantly as he continued to maneuver Simon in his arms.

 

“You could always just carry me properly.”

 

Markus stopped moving completely at that suggestion, looking at Simon as though he’d grown an extra head.

 

Simon raised an eyebrow at Markus. “What?”

 

“That’s not... A terrible idea.” Markus murmured, coaxing Simon’s arms around his neck.

 

Simon laughed a little. “Well it’s our only option so long as you’re shy about taking off my legs.”

 

“I’m not dismembering you.” Markus grabbed underneath the crook of Simon’s knees and hoisted him up. Simon’s loose grip around Markus’ neck tightened as he was lifted, clearly a little nervous about being carried. “I’m not gonna drop you, relax.”

 

“I’d like to see _you_ relax when you’re being carried by someone who’s half-blind.”

 

Markus walked down the hall with relatively confident steps, although his vision was _definitely_ off - he slammed his hip on the reception counter with far more force than he would’ve preferred. He gritted his teeth but otherwise didn’t react, he heard Simon tutting disapprovingly.

 

“You shut up, I didn’t have to get you.” Markus grumbled.

 

“But you did,” Simon said, voice sing-songy and teasing, “And on top of that, you’re still carrying me.”

 

They were silent the rest of the way back. Simon had closed his eyes, resting his head slightly against Markus’ chest, and the RK200 couldn’t stop thinking about it. If it weren’t for how solid and absolutely _real_ Simon felt in his arms, he’d be inclined to think this was all some kind of dream, a fabricated memory going on in his mind palace that would torture him once he came back to his senses.

 

But it wasn’t. He knew better, there were details that his mind simply couldn’t have dreamt up, and even if it did, he was determined to savor it for what it was - his companion, the peace of Jericho once again at his side, real or not.

 

Markus was lucky he knew the way back to the medical camp from there, or they would’ve gotten lost. He couldn’t focus on where he was going, or really anything other than Simon.

 

* * *

 

The med camp was… Very utilitarian, to say the least. It was uncomfortable, both to be in and to see. There were lines of damaged androids in an old warehouse a few went out the door and spilled onto the street. Some of them carried the shut-down bodies of companions in the hopes they might be fixable, others dragged themselves in, whatever state of disrepair they may have been in. New androids seemed to come out of the woodworks, hiding wherever it was they were and only coming out now.

 

Markus didn’t necessarily wish they all had found Jericho so much as he wished he knew how _many_ of them there were. It would’ve made planning for the whole endeavor of repair a lot easier, but they knew better than to expect easy.

 

Even though they picked every inch of the junkyard clean for discontinued parts and had the entirety of Cyberlife’s store of parts, some Androids would still have to wait _ages_ for what they were in need of - at least that would be the case if they couldn’t reroute the rest of Cyberlife’s delivery trucks back home.

 

It made Markus feel guilty that he didn’t need to wait for a new eye, it was just given to him as soon as he walked in without one. Hell, they even got him a green one, too.

 

The android that immediately took to fussing over SImon didn’t even know who he _was,_ just assumed he was important by virtue of Markus being the one carrying him. He wanted to hate that fact, but when he found out that eyes were in high demand and short supply - a great number of androids seemed to need them - he was deeply grateful.

 

They’d taken him into a room off to the side, one with bright lights and a table full of fine wires to fix his eye up. It had only taken the android working on Simon a few hours to do what she needed to, but it felt like ages nonetheless. There were still androids in critical condition that were probably in need of more help than Simon was - but then again, Simon was integral to the leading structure of Jericho.

 

Sometimes Markus wasn’t even sure how they got as far as they did without him.

 

Markus looked fondly down at Simon, who was still out cold on the table. Androids didn’t really _sleep,_ but Simon almost looked like he was dreaming. Markus liked to think that if he was asleep, and if he was dreaming, Simon would be dreaming of him.

 

His new right eye socket was pristine, like nothing ever happened to it. The new optical unit had yet to be put in, but that wasn’t really too much of a problem. Markus rolled the new, blue eye between his fingers, examining the open socket. He couldn’t stop thinking about how there was a piece of him inside Simon. For as long as Simon wanted it, there was a part of him that was _Markus’._ Without thinking, he pressed the new eye into the socket and let it fit itself into place.

 

Simon’s other eye opened mere moments after the new eye had been installed. He gently put his hands behind him and pushed himself up, so he was sitting. Simon looked down at his hands, then up to Markus, a slow smile spreading across his face. “Good morning.”

 

He shifted, letting his now-functional legs dangle a few centimeters off the ground. Markus sat down close to Simon, he had the urge to rest his head on Simon’s shoulder, but he couldn’t find the courage to actually do it.

 

Simon must’ve caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror across the room, as a hand came up to touch the area under his left eye. “I still have your eye in.”

 

“It suits you,” Markus said, and he wasn’t lying. It really _did_ look fantastic on him, at least to Markus. “You can keep it… If you want to, that is.”

 

Simon stifled a chuckle against the back of his hand. “We match, now.”

 

Markus’ heart skipped a beat at that, it was hardly a _no_ to keeping it. He smiled despite himself, scratching at the back of his neck. “I guess we do.”

 

Simon turned to Markus, looking at him with eyes that looked so similar to his own, and the RK200 was mesmerized. It wasn’t just that Simon had _his_ eye, or that he looked any better with it in, but it was the way that, despite it being the same fucking eye Markus had, it somehow looked… Warmer. It was as though everything looked kinder and softer on Simon, like some part of him was gentler by design.

 

He supposed that might be the case, after all, he was designed to look after children, but even still, he was sweeter looking than any other PL600 Markus had ever seen.

 

Markus never felt nervous under someone else’s gaze before just then and it was _awful._ He resisted the urge to fidget, he wasn’t sure if he should avoid or make steadier eye contact, he wanted to scream but didn’t know why _that_ of all things might make him feel any better.

 

“Something wrong, Markus?” His eyes flicked to Simon’s face, who almost seemed entertained by Markus’ clear discomfort - like he knew something Markus didn’t.

 

“It’s been so long,” Markus supplied. The lie felt obvious but he could play it off if he was careful.

 

“It honestly hasn’t been all that long at all.” _Shit._

 

“Well… Well it _feels_ like it,” Markus said. He wasn’t the sort to lose his cool or ramble easily, but he found that he felt the need to justify himself regardless. “I just… I feel awful about what happened. I should have never left you up there, but I panicked, there was probably a better way then to just leave you alone-”

 

“Markus?”

 

He didn’t hear Simon, the force of his own circular internal monologue pushing him forward. “- And I’ve been so confused and I’ve been so worried about you, and I didn’t wanna leave you-”

 

“Markus-”

 

“- You have no idea how awful I felt when I left you up there. I just _knew_ something would would go wrong and I didn’t know what to do without you-”

 

“Markus!” Simon shouted, snapping his fingers a few times in front of Markus’ face, effectively cutting off the RK200’s rant. “I know.”

 

“What?”

 

Simon was still smiling, even bigger than before, “ _I know,_ ” He insisted, “I saw. I saw all of it when we were connected. It’s alright, you did what you had to, and I don’t blame you for it.” He paused for a moment, contemplative, before he seemed to give in to himself. “And if we’re putting everything out in the open here, I uh… _admire_ you too. Was that the word you used? Admired? Whatever, yeah, I feel the same way.”

 

Markus was stunned into silence. He could only manage to stare at Simon for what felt like ages. “Why didn’t you… Why didn’t you say something?” He finally said.

 

Simon shrugged, turning to look at the mirror once again. “It always felt like a bad time, you know? You always had a lot to deal with, you had all of Jericho resting on your shoulders, I wasn’t gonna put my feelings on you.”

 

“I wish you would’ve,” Markus said, laughing a little. He didn’t know what to do, what to say, he wasn’t expecting Simon to have felt the same way, let alone to have felt the same way for as long as he might’ve. “It would’ve made everything a lot easier.”

 

Simon shook his head. “No, no, I don’t think so,” He said, “It would’ve clouded your judgement. Jericho needed you thinking clearly.”

 

“How do you know that?”

 

“I dated someone in Jericho for a while,” He explained, gesturing vaguely, “And when he finally shut down I was torn up. I couldn’t really _do_ anything for so long. It made me… Ineffective, I guess. Even when he was alive, I did a lot to keep _him_ happy that probably hurt everyone else in the long-run. When I look back on it, I don’t even think I cared for him that much - I was just lonely.”

 

“I guess,” Markus said, though he hardly bought that Simon was anything less than the perfect leader he always was.

 

Markus found that once again, he was distracted by Simon’s eyes. Though he was serenely staring off into space, Markus couldn’t help but notice how expressive he was, and how despite that, he was still seemed so at peace. There was no tension in his body, not even the slightest hint of stress. Markus couldn’t say the same for himself, he felt like a rubber band pulled taught, like he’d either snap back and hurt someone, or break entirely.

 

“How long?” Markus said, almost afraid of the answer.

 

Simon turned back to look at him, something twinkling in his eyes that Markus didn’t catch before. He hummed thoughtfully, finger coming up to tap at his chin. “Well I don’t really know, honestly. Probably since that blue-blood raid of yours, maybe a little after that. What about you, Mr. Revolutionary, how long have you been pining after the simple PL600?”  

 

He shifted uncomfortably under Simon’s gaze, coughing once to break the silence that kept stretching on between them. The _simple PL600_ comment annoyed Markus but he couldn’t figure out _why_ it did.

 

“I… Don’t know, either, honestly. Probably a long time? Maybe?” Markus said. He wanted curl up in a ball and disappear - he’d never sounded more idiotic in his entire life.

 

“Wow, you sound confident.”

 

“Shut up.”

 

“I’d say make me, but I think you might actually punch me if I did.”

 

“You’re right.”

 

“So you have no idea either?”

 

“None at all,” Markus admitted.

 

Simon rubbed his hands together, shifting a little himself. “Uh, hey… This might seem out of the blue but it’s been on my mind for awhile.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“What’s Jericho been like, since I was gone? How’d you guys hold up?” Simon’s voice was quiet, wavering almost anxiously. “You seemed to have done pretty well without me.”

 

Markus was taken aback by Simon’s question. He seemed so… Okay with what happened that the sudden anxiety shocked him. “Oh wow, uh… I mean… We were okay, I guess? We managed.”

 

“Oh.” His voice was even quieter than before, soft and breathy. “Good, that’s good, I’m glad.”

 

Simon sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than anything else.

 

“We weren’t _fine,_ but we… We could handle it. I think I was probably the one doing the worst,” Markus admitted. When Simon didn’t respond, he just kept going. “It was just that… We all pretended like we were _fine,_ but I knew we weren’t. North was especially bad. She kept staring off into space for awhile before snapping out of it. I don’t think she got over the fact that she told me that we had to kill you.”

 

Simon remained silent, brows furrowed and lips pulled into a straight line.

 

“And _Josh,_ god, when we got back, he just… Broke down. He locked himself up alone for hours and then came out stone-faced. I have no idea what he did but whatever it is, I wish I did it. I had to sit in front of everyone and pretend to be unaffected but I wasn’t. I just… After what happened…”

 

Everything that Markus did after leaving Simon was in his memory. Freedom was important to him - it always was - but his resolve was born anew with the desire, the _need_ to earn androids their freedom. He’d lost his best friend for the cause, so he had to finish what he started or die trying.

 

“After I- When we- Up on Stratford-”

 

_I’m not gonna cry, I can say it, I can admit it, I’m the leader of Jericho, I’ve done it before, I’m not gonna cry, I’m gonna say it out loud and I’m gonna-_

 

Simon’s hand came to rest on his shoulder, and suddenly Markus’ thoughts came to a screeching halt. Simon pulled him close, pressing Markus’ side into his with his arm wrapped protectively around his shoulder.

 

Markus broke.

 

The tears came shamefully, almost, but Simon didn’t judge him, didn’t say anything, just let him cry against his shoulder. Markus’ arms came to cling onto Simon for dear life, like if he let Simon go, he’d disappear and never come back. Simon shifted, pulling Markus into a proper hug. He rubbed Markus’ back gently, almost lovingly, but still said nothing.

 

“I’m sorry.” Markus found himself saying that _over and over and over again_. He was, he was sorry and nothing he’d ever do would make up for what Simon went through. He’d never be able to give back what Simon must’ve lost while he was on that rooftop.

 

“I forgive you,” Simon said again, once Markus’ chanting had died down, “I’d do it again, too, if it meant that we’d be free. I’ve always been willing to die for our cause. I knew what I signed up for, and you don’t have to apologize for it.”

 

His grip tightened on Simon, his face was still buried in his shoulder, “I wish… I wish you didn’t have to go through what you did.”

 

Markus didn’t really _hear_ Simon’s chuckle so much as he _felt_ it shaking his core. “That makes two of us.”

 

They sat together for a long time, holding one another. Markus slowly but surely stopped crying as Simon’s hands kept soothingly tracing patterns down Markus’ back.

 

When Simon finally pulled away from Markus, he gently wiped away his own tears on his sleeve.

 

_When did he start crying?_

 

Simon sniffled slightly, laughing softly when his eyes came to rest on Markus. “How does someone still look stunning after crying his eyes out? What’s your secret, Mr. Revolutionary?”

 

“Beauty’s in the eye of the beholder, I guess.” Markus said, wiping the remnants of his own tears away.

 

“That’s especially the case when that beholder stole one of his eyes from someone as beautiful as you.”

 

Markus laughed slightly at that, earning a smile from Simon. “Quit stealing my thunder.”

 

“Make me,” Simon said, crossing his arms, in front of him.

 

“Want that punch you mentioned earlier?”

 

“I’d prefer a kiss, but I’ll take whatever I can get.”

 

“Come here, you,” He said, pulling Simon by the collar towards him. He wasn’t sure where the confidence came from, but he planted a quick kiss on Simon’s lips.

 

Simon stared, wide eyed, flushed bright cobalt, and seemingly shocked as he touched his lips.

 

“Sorry,” Markus said, “I should’ve asked.”

 

“No! No, no, no, I provoked you I just… Wasn’t expecting you to actually do it.”

 

“That makes two of us,” Markus admitted, earning him a gentle punch to the shoulder from Simon.

 

“Don’t lie, you knew exactly what you were doing,” Simon said as he stood up, stretching his arms above his head. “Well, then, with that out of the way we oughta… Get going, I guess. There’s work to be done, isn’t there?”

 

“Anxious to get back out there?” Markus asked, standing up while Simon shifted his weight back and forth on his new legs.

 

“Very,” Simon replied, holding open the door for Markus.

 

Markus offered Simon his hand, which Simon took gently, lacing his fingers with Markus’. “Well then,” Markus said, “Let's get you caught up, then.”


	2. Disorganized, Understaffed, Overcrowded

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thanks to My Main B [Ri](https://archiveofourown.org/users/riiwriting/pseuds/riiwriting) for beta-ing this, go ahead and check her out!!! She’s an absolute DOLL for putting up with me lmao
> 
> Anyways YES it’s d o n e. Tbh, I won’t lie to you, I’ve been sick and fever-delusional while writing this, and no lie, I deleted it in a hissy fit like twice. Truly not my most easy time writing, BUT now I kinda know what’s going on sorta, a little bit. 
> 
> The very cute child character in this belongs to my buddy Casper! He’s an RP character, and if you wanna go check out the absolute DARLING boi that’s stolen my heart several times over, go ahead and check ‘em out [here](https://imitationchild.tumblr.com/).

Simon tried his best not to let his face fall as he stared at the camp. He’d been so hopeful about the state of things, given how quickly Markus and himself had been treated, but those hopes were absolutely dashed when he finally got a clear look at what the situation was. 

 

The words  _ disorganized, understaffed, overcrowded  _ came to mind, but he didn’t want to undercut what Markus had already done. 

 

“That bad?” Markus chimed from his place next to Simon. 

 

_ Dammit.  _

 

He supposed his poker face wasn’t always fantastic, but this was a new low. “Uh…” He tried his level best to come up with something,  _ anything  _ good to say about the camp, but all that came to mind was it’s existence. “It’s… In need of improvement, but you did pretty well with what you have.” 

 

Markus chuckled a little at that. “You can just say it’s a mess.” 

 

“Well alrighty then,” Simon said, gesturing broadly to the rest of the warehouse, “This place is a huge mess and it’s awful.” 

 

“That’s the spirit! So what’re we doing about it, then?” 

 

Simon wasn’t expecting to be consulted quite so quickly. He’d woken up less than an hour ago, his clothes were still thirium stained and he’d only  _ just  _ heard of what happened in the time between being left on the rooftop and then.

 

“What?” 

 

Markus waved a hand in the direction of the lines of androids waiting for assistance, turning to look at Simon questioningly. “This is your area, I figured it’d be the best thing to put you in charge of while North and Josh are still sweeping Detroit and dealing with the leftover androids that haven’t deviated yet.” 

 

“Oh! Oh… I guess, uh… Yeah.” He gazed around the area, trying to figure out what he could do to get things moving faster. “So then what’re we working with?” 

 

“Three warehouses, two filled with people waiting around, and uh…” Markus started counting the androids treating others, quietly counting under his breath, “Something like 30 volunteers.” 

 

Simon’s eyes widened, “ _ Thirty? _ ” 

 

_ He’s joking, he’s lying, there can’t be thirty. _

 

And so Simon took a headcount himself, and was more or less horrified at the result.  _ Thirty two volunteers. You’re kidding me.  _

 

Markus smiled sheepishly, seemingly trying to justify himself. “Yes? There were only thirty people from Jericho undamaged enough to help.” 

 

“Alright, uh… Okay, okay, let’s just…” Simon paced slightly, rubbing his hands together. Revolution wasn’t his strong suit and never would be, but doing the best he could with nothing at all was his specialty. He could  _ do this.  _

 

It was just a matter of figuring out what  _ doing this  _ would entail.

 

“Show me the rest of the androids we have here.” 

 

Markus nodded sharply, leading Simon out of the makeshift treatment center, leading him into the next warehouse over. “Well here’s the one.” 

 

Simon mulled over his options as he stared into the crowd. Their best bet of getting well, undamaged androids was to just… Ask. There was this gentle murmur of conversation, nobody was very loud, Simon bet that if he could shout loud enough, he could catch most of their attentions, and the rest would follow suit. 

 

“What’re you planning?” Markus nudged Simon, raising an eyebrow. 

 

“Do you think I could shout over these people?”

 

“Sure. How come, though?” 

 

Simon shrugged, cupping his hands around his mouth, taking in a deep breath, and shouting a loud, vibrant: “Hey!” 

 

It echoed off the walls of the warehouse, as the dull chatter came to a screeching halt and all eyes were on Simon. 

 

He was hardly  _ shy  _ in public, he wasn’t afraid to speak in front of people, but he never found getting a crowd to cooperate an easy task. 

 

“If there are any undamaged androids here, would you please make your way to the front!” When he saw no movement, his lips pulled into a flat line. Simon sighed a little to himself, but he brushed it off. He was standing next to rA9 incarnate, supposedly, his best bet was to just use that to his advantage. “Markus and I have something to say to you!” 

 

He watched as at least twenty androids sood up, quietly shuffling towards the front. He huffed a sigh as he looked at Markus, who bit down on his knuckle to keep himself from laughing. 

 

“Don’t gimme that crap, Markus, I thought of this and you didn’t,” Simon muttered, lightly jabbing Markus in the side with his elbow. “Your camp is a mess and with some luck, it’ll become  _ my  _ camp and it won’t be anymore.” 

 

“Right. Sorry,” Markus said, still proudly bearing the shit-eating grin on his face.

 

Simon turned to the androids that had meandered their way to the front, putting on his best smile for them as he tried to figure out how the fuck he should convince a bunch of confused, homeless androids to play doctor for awhile. 

 

“Thank you guys so much,” Simon said, earnestly. “We’re in a bit of a bind here, we’re grossly understaffed, but I’m certain we could get things moving quicker with a few volunteers. I’m just trying to make sure your loved ones get treated as fast as possible. Would any of you be interested?” 

 

* * *

 

Simon prided himself on how easy it was to fix the issue. By the end of his little recruitment, they had another 45 volunteers, a system for calling people up based on severity, and  _ way  _ more androids getting patched up and getting  _ out.  _ The issue of the parts shortage was fixed almost as soon as it came up, as three shipping trucks worth of spares came into their possession - the reroute was a success. 

 

Markus had gone off to handle the undeviated, Simon remained to, as he said,  _ hold down the fort. _

 

He sat on the floor of the warehouse, keeping his eyes peeled for anyone that seemed like they needed his help, when he saw the little kid wandering around. By the looks of it, he was one of those YK’s, though he seemed like a newer model - one of the ones that looked a little older. Simon stood up, though the movement was a little too fluid for what he was used to, his old joints were way stiffer than these. 

 

He approached the kid, softly touching his shoulder to get his attention. The kid whipped around, startled by Simon. “Sorry,” he said, “Are you looking for someone?” 

 

The kid nodded, but didn’t say anything else. 

 

_ Oh. A quiet one.  _

 

Simon pressed a little further, “Do you wanna tell me who they are? Or what they look like? I can help you find ‘em.” 

 

“Right,” The kid said, but he didn’t make any eye contact, eyes glued to the ground. “She’s an ST300. Her name’s Lucy? She said she was gonna help with repairs, but I don’t know where she went.” 

 

Simon raised himself up on his toes - as though that was gonna help him see any better - and scanned the rows of volunteers. Not a single ST series, let alone the specific person the kid was looking for. “Hmm… Well I’m not seeing her from here, would you like to walk with me to find her?” 

 

He nodded once again, trailing behind Simon as he looked for the android caring for the kid. 

 

“What’s your name, little guy?”

 

“Evan,” The boy replied. 

 

“Evan? Well it’s a pleasure, Evan, I’m Simon,” Simon said, turning around and offering him a hand to shake, “So what brought you here? I don’t remember you from Jericho,” Simon inquired. He hadn’t seen him before, most of the child androids from Jericho were made to look far younger than him. Evan looked like he deviated quite some time ago, he was a little worse for ware, and Simon could see his misaligned chest plate poking slightly through his shirt - so how come the kid never found them?

 

“Right. Simon.” The boy took his hand tentatively shaking his hand. “Uh… Lucy brought me here, actually.” His voice was just loud enough to hear. It broke Simon’s heart - he knew whatever the poor boy had been through must’ve left him with some scars. 

 

“Is that so? Where were you, then?” Simon was almost certain he was pushing it.

 

“I was… I was at a train station for awhile.” 

 

Simon’s smile faded at that. “Train station?” 

 

“My… Uh… My parents-” 

 

_ Oh.  _

 

“You don’t have to keep going, if you don’t want to,” Simon said, annoyed with himself for cutting off the kid, but he wasn’t sure how he’d react when the kid came out and said what he already knew. Simon wasn’t violent, that was for sure, but he knew he’d say something a kid had no need to hear. 

 

_ You can’t just leave a little boy at a train station when you don’t want him anymore. _

 

Simon forced himself to smile at the child android he was speaking to, though deep down he seethed with rage. 

 

“I think I was at the train station for nearly a year when Lucy got me,” He explained, twiddling his thumbs. His voice was so quiet, he was so  _ afraid.  _

 

Simon hated it. 

 

“Well you always have a home with us,” Simon said. He tried so hard to distract his thoughts from the boy’s parents, how they could just…  _ leave  _ him. He was in better hands now, Simon promised as much to himself, “Let’s see if we can find Lucy, alright?” 

 

It didn’t take much longer, she was tucked into the opposite corner of the warehouse, working diligently on replacing the leg of a TR400. Evan ended up sitting next to her, curling up, leaning his head on her shoulder, and slipping into low-power mode as she worked. 

 

“Thank you,” She said to Simon as she waited for her next patient, “He gets nervous when you leave him alone, I was planning on getting him later.” 

 

“My pleasure, miss.” Simon patted her shoulder fondly, warmly glancing towards the child as he did. “Take good care of him, he’s been through a lot.” 

 

Lucy nodded as her next patient came up. Simon turned around and walked back towards the corner he’d claimed as his own, but he was left with a shifting discomfort in his chest. 

 

He’d forgotten, in the midst of all their revolutionary crap, that the very reason he ever stepped to the plate to lead was so children like Evan always had someone who gave a damn. He wanted Jericho to be the paradise he’d originally designed, but as more androids came and less supplies came with them, all it really did was become the holding cell of those who wanted to die free.

 

He wouldn’t admit it back then then, but he could in that moment; the thing that stopped him from being the Markus they needed at the time was simply cowardice. Simon wasn’t just afraid of what might happen if they were found, he already  _ knew. _ He’d failed in building Jericho not once, but twice before, and he payed for it in blood.

 

Simon liked to make light of it, to himself, at least. Revolution was not his strong suit - that much was clear - but  _ this,  _ the camp, the practical side of things that always needed to get done once the warring was over… That was all he knew how to do. 

 

It didn’t bring glory, not in the same way, at least, but Simon didn’t really want any of that. He just wanted to get shit done, and the sudden realization of how absolutely _stagnant_ he was since Markus showed up ate at him. 

 

This was the first thing he’d actually  _ done  _ since Markus fell into Jericho, and it sickened him. Simon turned on his heel as he reached his little corner, walking out to check on the group of people left in waiting in the other warehouses. The next thing on his mind was housing - where would these people  _ go  _ once they were well? - but he had no idea how he could accommodate. 

 

Simon’s wandering thoughts came to a halt when he saw North, gazing into the holding warehouses with a slightly furrowed brow. 

 

A strange set of emotions washed over him. He was relieved to see her alive and well, a familiar face always brought a little bit of comfort to him, but there was still an overwhelmingly bitter taste left in his mouth. 

 

_ “We can’t leave him behind. We have to shoot him!”  _

 

She said it so callously. She sounded panicked, sure, but it was said as though she didn’t even care, like it was irrelevant  _ who  _ they were shooting. 

 

Part of him was a little proud. She made the relentlessly logical decision - one he ended up agreeing with, at least in action. But that part of him was so easily drowned out by the part of him that kept on chanting about how she didn’t even seem to care. It didn’t seem to hurt her, distress her, or otherwise cause her any kind of pain, she seemed to be so  _ okay  _ with it.

 

Simon had since decided that he wasn’t going to be mad about what happened, that everyone did what they had to under stress, but he found his resolve to be forgiving crumbling. He hated that about himself. He could be so calm and balanced most of the time, but when he found reason to be bitter, he clung to it. 

 

It was normally pretty irrelevant. You can be bitter about the system, how it’s treated you, and what your situation became because of it, but being bitter about your best friend was another ballpark. 

 

He didn’t want to be bitter. 

 

“Excuse me? Can I help you?” North said, slowly walking towards Simon. 

 

He realized he’d been staring. 

 

“North.” That was all he could think of saying. It was almost whispered, barely audible over the thrumming of his thirium pump. “I see you braided your hair yourself.”

 

Her eyes widened when he said that. She took a couple of quicker steps towards him, and Simon flinched. He was almost certain she was gonna hit him, but instead, he was pulled into a rib-crushing hug. 

 

“Simon…” She murmured into his chest. North always hugged like if she let go, you’d both disappear. It almost hurt a little, and he was sure that if she hugged too much tighter, she’d crush the plates of his chest inwards and that’d be that. He’d die for a third time. 

 

“Glad to see you too,” Simon said, chuckling a little. As angry as he was, he missed her. His hands came up to wrap around her, squeezing her back a little bit. 

 

“I thought you died,” She said. 

 

“Wonder who’s idea that was.” Simon bit his tongue. He hated it when he got like this, she  _ just  _ saw him, she didn’t need to be reminded of the fucked-up thing she did quite so quickly. North ignored his little comment. Simon scoffed inwardly.  _ Of course she glosses over it.  _

 

She squeezed him slightly tighter before letting go, holding him at arm's length to look at his face. She cupped his cheeks, looking at him as though he was her brother who came home from war. Her eyes got glassy, but she wasn’t much of a crier. She smiled so wide, it was sort of strange to see it cut her face in half. 

 

“I’m so glad you’re back,” She said, “I missed you so much.” 

 

“Likewise,” Simon said. 

 

She pulled him in for a second hug, squeezing him rib-crushingly tight once more. 

 

“Simon?” 

 

Simon looked up from North’s head, only to see Josh there, stunned. 

 

Josh was just as dear to Simon as North was, but oddly enough, he felt the same unrest as he did with North. 

 

_ “That’s murder! We can’t kill him, he’s one of us.”  _

 

It dawned on Simon, then, that the only reason Josh was willing to argue in favor of his life was not that they were friends, no, it was simply that it went against his principles. Had Josh even been slightly less of a pacifist, he probably would’ve agreed with North, that killing Simon wasn’t just the best option, but it was the  _ only  _ option. 

 

It settled deep in Simon’s chest, then, a painful sort of conflict. His best friends, the two people that mattered the absolute most in his life, didn’t seem to care half as much about him as he did about them. 

 

“Josh!” North said, pulling herself away from Simon, “He’s alive!” 

 

“I can see that,” Josh said, as North grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him towards them. Josh simply stood there, bewildered looking. 

 

Simon fought down his bitterness, he couldn’t afford to hate them, he didn’t  _ want  _ to hate them. Josh held his hand out for Simon to shake, and Simon laughed a little. 

 

“C’mon, Josh, skip the formality,” Simon said, as he pulled Josh in for a hug. 

 

It was shorter lasting than North’s, though that wasn’t really much of a surprise, Josh wasn’t half as physical in his affection than North was. When he pulled back, Josh gave Simon the same once-over North did, but seemed to get tripped up on something. 

 

“Your eye,” Josh said, “What happened to it?” 

 

“Huh?” North said, “What are you - oh. Yeah, wait, what happened? Why is it  _ green? _ ” 

 

Simon realized it was time for the story, he coughed a little, and scratched behind his head, trying to find the words to use. “So… When you guys left me up there,” Josh and North winced in unison at the reminder, “I uh… Had a run-in with that deviant hunter guy.” 

 

“Connor?” North asked.

 

“Yeah, I think that was his name,” Simon said, “He tried to read the location of Jericho off me, and so I uh…” 

 

“You…?” North pressed. 

 

Simon cleared his throat, he was suddenly so uncomfortable with saying it, but he willed himself to as hard as he could. “I shot myself.” 

 

“Oh,” Josh said. 

 

North’s hands came up over her mouth, but she was silent. 

 

“Yeah… So that sort of… Ruined my eyes. A little while after that I woke up and couldn’t really see, I was strung up somewhere - apparently I was in the DPD evidence locker - and that Connor guy imitated Markus’ voice and managed to get me to tell him where Jericho is,” Simon coughed again, shifting uncomfortably in place. He sighed and willed himself to just power through the rest of the story. “He pulled out my thirium pump regulator and that was that. Markus got me last night, he put in a new pump regulator and he uh… He gave me one of his eyes.” Simon’s eyes shot to the ground at the confused expressions of his friends, as he counted off the rest of the things that happened on his fingers, “I got brought back here, we got our eyes fixed, I got some new legs, and here we are now.” 

 

“You still have his eye in?” North asked. 

 

“Uh… Yeah.” 

 

“You had to shoot yourself?” Josh asked. 

 

“Yeah.” 

 

The silence between the three of them stretched on for minutes on end, all of them just staring at each other, processing and letting everything sink in. 

 

“I see you guys already found each other.” Markus’ voice cut through the thick silence, the three of them whipping around to look at him. “I was planning on surprising you guys, but I mean… This works, too.” 

 

“Why didn’t you tell us?” North said, “How long have you known Simon was alive?” 

 

Markus put his hands up in surrender, “I’ve only known a day longer than you have.” 

 

“We should’ve come with you to get him,” Josh joined in, crossing his arms. 

 

“Guys,” Simon cut in, “It’s fine. You know I’m here now, that’s all that matters. We’re all safe now.” 

 

North hummed dismissively, arms still crossed defensively, but Josh seemed placated enough by that. Josh uncrossed his arms, but his face was still alight with an expression Simon couldn’t really place. 

 

Markus’ hand knocked into Simon’s, subtly grabbing his fingers. Simon returned the gesture, somewhat in need of Markus to ground him. There were a lot of feelings rolling around in him, but it was easy to focus on Markus. 

 

“So as soon as Simon’s back, we’re already putting him to work?” North asked, gesturing at the camp, “This whole place has Simon written all over it.” 

 

Markus shrugged, “It’s not like any of us would’ve been able to do anything this good. Plus, he said he wanted to get right back into things.” 

 

North eyed their hands, narrowing her eyes almost as though she was suspicious.

 

“What’s going on between you two?” She asked, at last.

 

“What do you mean?” Markus said. 

 

Simon cringed inwardly, he was playing the oblivious card, but he knew better. She figured it out, Josh probably did, too, but he seemed to care less. 

 

“You know what I mean!” North said, raising her voice more than she probably intended, gesturing emphatically at their hands, “He’s got your  _ eye  _ in, you ran off to be his knight in shining armor  _ alone,  _ and now  _ that! _ ” 

 

_ Oh. I see.  _

 

Simon wasn’t fond of being right about these kinds of suspicions but this one was glaringly obvious. Maybe Markus wouldn’t see it, but Simon absolutely did.

 

_ North, you could’ve told me you were in love with Markus.  _

 

Simon watched her hands ball into fists at her side, she always got like this when she was jealous, but she’d calm down eventually.

 

“Simon,” Markus said, “You wanna explain?” 

 

“I think you’re just trying to foot the responsibility,” Simon responded nonchalantly. He wasn’t looking to tell her, but seemingly, neither was Markus. “Go ahead, tell her.” 

 

“No, no, I think  _ you  _ should-” 

 

“You two are a thing, now,” Josh said, apparently fed up. They all turned to stare at him, but he shrugged, “What,  _ someone  _ had to say it, and if I didn’t, we’d be here all night.” 

 

“Yeah,” Simon concurred, “Thanks.” 

 

“No problem, but don’t think you’re safe, yet. What’s the story?” He said, gesturing at the two of them, “Something had to have happened between when Markus got you and now.” 

 

“Yeah,” North said, slightly calmer, “What happened?” 

 

“If I’m honest, I don’t really know,” Simon said, “We were talking about what happened and it sort of just… Came up. I figured Markus wanted me when he was running a diagnostic scan, but he talked himself into a real tizzy, he thought I must’ve hated him or something.” 

 

Markus shrugged, “Yeah that sounds about right.” 

 

“So that’s it?” North asked, “You two are just a thing now.” 

 

“I mean that’s sorta how it works, isn’t it?” Josh replied, “People talk and that’s that.” 

 

“Yeah,” Markus said, “We’re a thing now.” 

 

North seemed to war with something in her head for a moment, before she sighed, looking at Simon with the same fondness from before. She clapped her hand on his shoulder, half heartedly smiling, “Good for you, Simon.” 

 

Simon made a mental note to bring this up with her later, but would take her clear attempt at being happy for him at face value - she was trying. 

 

“Thanks, North.” 

 

“Was something going on between you two I didn’t know about?” Josh asked.

 

North jumped, almost, taking a step back as soon as the thought was brought up, “No! Josh, Jesus, why the  _ fuck  _ would you even suggest that-” 

 

Simon sniggered into the back of his hand, “Remember when that rumor went around that we were together?” 

 

“You braid a gal’s hair enough and people start to talk,” North said with a snort.

 

“People thought you two were together?” Markus asked.

 

“Not us two,” Josh said, “Us  _ three. _ ” 

 

“You’re kidding,” Markus said flatly. 

 

“If only,” North replied, “God, I’d never.”

 

“Wow, glad to know you think we’re ugly,” Simon said, nudging North gently. 

 

“I don’t  _ think  _ you’re ugly, I  _ know  _ you’re ugly,” North said, smugly.

 

“Wow!” Josh said, crossing his arms again, “Rude!” 

 

“Payback for the hair comment,” She said. 

 

“It  _ does  _ kinda look like crap, North,” Josh commented. 

 

“Who’s rude now?” 

 

The casual arguing of his friends faded into the background for Simon, this sort of ribbing was pretty standard for them. He felt the edges of Markus’ mind peek into his, and Simon smiled a little, forging his half of the connection. 

 

_ “I’m really glad we’re back together,” Markus said into the connection. _

 

_ “That makes two of us,” Simon said, “I missed you guys.”  _

 

_ “What about North? What’s with her?” Markus asked, “She’s acting pretty weird.”  _

 

_ “Not my place to say,” Simon told him, “But she cares about you a lot.”  _

 

_ “Same could be said for you.”  _

 

_ “Yeah,” Simon thought, “That’s true.”  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Announcement time!  
> **
> 
>  
> 
> Normally I’d just plug my tumblr and ask for concrit but today I have some real stuff to tell y’all.
> 
> I’ll cut to the chase, I’m going to be entering in my junior year of high school, so updates might be slower on this main work, but don’t you go thinking I’ll abandon it! I have a pretty clear endgame for this fic, and I intend on carrying it out no matter what. Because of how much time/effort/persistence I put into each chapter, I’m gonna have longer spaces between updates, just because school is gonna start occupying a lot more of all of those resources. 
> 
> But there’s a bright side, I have a [tumblr!](https://parttwoactuallywrites.tumblr.com/) (Ha! You thought I wouldn’t shove that down your throat, lmao.) I’ve been writing some small stuff within this stories canon that I don’t wanna clog AO3 with ([here’s one about rA9 and belief](https://parttwoactuallywrites.tumblr.com/post/177249224241/hope-is-hope), [here’s another explaining the braid thing)](https://parttwoactuallywrites.tumblr.com/post/177385823506/i-thought-all-androids-knew). Plus I got that ask box open, so you’re always welcome to nudge me if you think I might’ve dropped things or fallen off the face of the Earth or just otherwise wanna chat about the story/have questions about things within the YKE universe. (Seriously I have an entire eight page google doc bullet-list with stuff about the Jericrew and their relationships with each other, ask me about them.)
> 
> A’ight, kids, sorry I rambled, but I love ya, leave your concrit as you will, and I’ll see you around!


End file.
